


It Comes and Goes

by DetectiveAtWork



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst, Canonical Character Death, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Rebirth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:14:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25754179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DetectiveAtWork/pseuds/DetectiveAtWork
Summary: When Toph is twelve she asks a question. It takes a lifetime to get answered.
Relationships: Toph Beifong & The Gaang
Comments: 14
Kudos: 119





	It Comes and Goes

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, so I tried to write something happy and physically couldn't...so thats where I'm at. 
> 
> The title comes from the song "Waves" by Dean Lewis, but more specifically a TikTok art that inspired some of this piece. I will tag it at the bottom and highly recommend checking it out, this artist never fails to make me cry.

_“Do you really think friendships can last more than one lifetime?”_

Toph is twelve when she asks this question. It's a moment of total weakness, a weakness that she would only show to those around her. For the first time in her twelve years, she has finally found people that appreciate her for who she really is. Her friends are nothing like her parents and it's moments like this, holding hands with her best friends, that she finally feels at peace. 

She grips their hands harder. If this is the type of friendship that can transcend lifetimes, _if this is what it feels like_ , she wants it. 

~~~

They’ve won the war. 

They’re dirtied, injured, exhausted, but _they’ve won_. Nobody faults her, and she doesn’t fault anyone else, for letting a few tears slip out. 

They’re all at Zuko’s bedside, someone who has hunted them, someone who somehow is the perfect puzzle piece to just slip right into their rag tag family, someone who is _her friend_. They sit quietly and talk, having missed each other for the days they spent apart. Uncle is making tea for all of them, his hands shaking as they regale the tales of each of their own battles. 

The atmosphere is warm as Katara pulls her closer, giving her a tight squeeze. Toph lets her. For a moment they had no idea if they would ever see each other again, and that's a good enough excuse for a hug, if Toph has ever heard of one. 

She lets her mind drift. 

She focuses back and they’re all laughing at something Sokka said. She cracks a smile and now more than ever she feels more solid. Solidified. 

The irony is not lost on her, that in twelve years as an earthbender, it takes a group of people who are the exact opposite of her to make her feel more grounded than when she herself has control of the ground. 

“And then Suki comes along and bam-!” 

Toph is not spiritual, but it does not stop her from saying a quick thanks to every spirit she knows. She says a thank you for helping her escape a life that would have chipped her away to the bone and a thank you for saving them. 

A sense of peace and relief settles over all of them like a blanket and Toph is more than happy to be surrounded by friends. 

~~~

They are all starting their own lives. It makes sense that after _days, months, and years_ of being in the general vicinity of each other, they needed to go their own ways. 

Toph isn’t worried. As much as they try to go their own ways, she still runs into all of her friends as they try to continue to build the world they created together. 

She makes her own police force, something that everyone laughs at when it’s brought up. She, too, had laughed, but it also make sense. The criminals they had today were so different from those that they had run from before. The world was starting to settle down. It was time that she did too.

Toph isn't upset. The bond they have forged together...there is no distance, nor length of time that could erode their friendship. It seemed childish now, but Toph thought of the promise they had made years ago. Holding hands on the island, the long rides on Appa, snuggling together in the Temple to keep warm, the aftermath in the garden when there was finally quiet... no matter how far away they were, it was ok. Toph had never been so sure of anything in her life. 

~~~

Toph is terrified. 

She puts her hands over her stomach and through the earth beneath her she can feel the tiny being inside her squirm about and their heartbeat. Across the room, she could feel the duel heartbeats in Katara as well. 

“Someone is restless,” she says this to Katara. Toph can tell she’s exhausted. This is Katara’s third go around and her first. She never saw herself becoming a mother and when she relayed this to Katara she had laughed and told her that _‘nobody is ever truly ready_.’ 

“If I didn’t know you, I would say that that is very creepy.” Katara plopped down next to Toph and gave a long sigh. Outside, Toph could hear Kya and Bumi playing with Aang and Kanto. “But it is useful, considering you were the first one to find out.” 

This was true. With Bumi, Toph had congratulated her and Aang in front of their whole family and friends. Katara had had an inkling, but the shock caused Aang to almost _fly_ off the ground before smothering her with hugs and kisses. Realizing that he knew how to ‘see’ like Toph, Aang had spent the next nine months stomping on the ground, much to Katara’s dismay. Since then, it's been a running joke that Toph is always the first to know who’s pregnant. 

The two of them sit in comfortable silence for a few moments. 

“I can see that you’re trying not to freak out, Toph.” Katara rubbed her stomach and said the statement so blasé that Toph’s own movements stuttered. 

“I just...I’ve never been more nervous for anything in my life.” It was a true testament to see how far they’ve come for Toph to admit this aloud. Katara hummed softly. There was a brief silence. 

“You know that you aren’t going to be doing this alone, right?” She shifts and sits up to face Toph. “We’re all here. You have Kanto, me, Aang, and even Sokka and Zuko.” She reached out and placed a hand on Toph’s stomach. 

“Thanks,” Toph whispered. Katara gave a laugh and patted her on the shoulder.

“Just so you know, it looks like baby there is gonna be an earthbender, you better get used to being the second best.” 

The two of them laughed and continued talking about all sorts of things. During this, the question poked itself in the back of Toph’s head, it had been awhile since she last thought of it. 

That night, all she could think of is that _this_ was the answer to her question. Her child was going to know the love and friendship that took her twelve years to find. Her best friends’ children were going to grow up with her own, was there no greater purpose in life than this?

_  
  
_

~~~~

Years pass in bliss and not once does she think about the question she asked all those years ago. 

~~~

They are having a sleepover. Something they haven’t had since they were children. The irony is not lost on Toph that this is exactly the type of thing that Aang would want. They’re piled in one room surrounding the floor mat like they had done when Zuko was recovering from lightning. Except this time there is no laughter or relief. 

They all knew that Aang was slowing down and, when months ago he mentioned that he had little time left, everything sort of stopped. 

Of course, Katara was hit the hardest. When Toph had shown up the week before, she had latched onto her and shook so hard that Toph’s teeth chattered. Sokka had taken to living with them, as Aang was essentially on bed rest. Zuko had flown Druk over as soon as Katara had told them that it was imminent. That was two days ago.

They were all joking about old times. Telling stories that the friends had heard hundreds of times before. 

_“Remember when you thought Aang was a spy?_ ” or _“I can’t believe you got Zuko to dance!”_

They told the stories and reminisced, but it wasn’t the same. Aang had given a teary smile to all of them as they went about telling their favorite memories. Toph could feel the tension and the stress of everyone’s hearts as they kept waiting. Hours passed and the group was getting ready for bed, setting up sleeping bags like old times, all huddling close to each other.

A rattled gasp came from Aang and the group abandoned the comfort of their sleeping bag to gather around him. 

The lack of warmth and happiness made Toph’s movements stale as she knelt near Aang. He had woken up and told them that it was any moment now, he could feel it. The statement left a bitter taste in Toph’s mouth and she hunched over next to Katara who had tears streaming down her face. 

It was an hour later, under a full moon, that Toph felt it. Her knees were stiff and she could tell the others were uncomfortable. She clenched Katara’s hand and felt that Sokka had a hand wrapped around her shoulders. Zuko leaned to place a hand on Katara’s shoulders as she shook with tears. The only thing you could hear was the labored breathing of Aang and the occasional sniffle from Katara. 

The floor under her knees reverberated with the slight _tha-thwump_ of Twinkletoes' heart beat. 

Until it didn’t. 

Her gasp must have alerted the others and before she knew it she was sobbing. Next to her, she heard Katara wail. 

_“No!”_

The last echo of Avatar Aang’s heartbeat resounded through Toph’s body and any thought of friendship dissipated with the metal walls she erected around her heart. 

~~~

If this was what friendship felt like, she didn’t want it. 

How could she have been so naive when she asked that question? She had thought they would all go out together in a haze of battle and glory. And when those dangers passed, she thought they would all move through life, and ultimately death, together. She was sorely mistaken. Such naive, childish thoughts.

A bitter snort cut through as Toph stood at the ceremonial funeral for Aang. 

This wasn’t what Aang wanted, but they had already done a private funeral at the Southern Air Temple for him, laying him to rest like his ancestors had been. She tried not to think too hard about the earthen statue she had made for him in the room full of _past_ Avatars. 

She wonders if Twinkletoes had known all those years ago, the answer to her question. She had a hunch he did. While Sokka was skeptical and Katara was just a plain optimist, she had a feeling that Aang had known for certainty that, though their friendship would come to an end, it was really just the beginning. She wonders if he knew he would be the first to go. 

She wonders if he really was at peace with leaving. 

Except, he wouldn’t be leaving. Not really. His new life was just beginning. 

Toph didn’t know if that was worse or better. 

The crowd starts to dissipate, but Toph feels crowded, like her skin is itching. She feels her heart speed up and her breath quicken. The sadness that loomed over her threatened to cage her in like the metal box she was stuffed in when she was twelve. 

_Leave_ , her mind told her, and she went. 

~~~

It wasn’t hard to find the swamp that Aang had told her about. It was just as mystical as the group had said it was. Here, she felt alive. She could see for miles; the swamp gave her life and in return she could live in solace. Away from the world and all of its troubles. 

It's an easy out, but at this point in her life, it is one she gladly takes. 

The swamp lets her live in peace and when mysterious or questionable things happen, she lets it slide. It's almost like the swamp _wants_ her to react, wants her to lash out, to do _something_. 

Sometimes, in the night, she hears the echo of friends. She hears laughter and crying, old conversations passed around the campfire or in the leather saddle. It taunts her to _call out_ , to follow the voices she once knew. It’s like the swamp wants her to ask how it can do such things. 

_How is it doing this? Why is it doing this? Why am I here?_

She stopped asking questions. She doesn't like hearing the answers anymore. 

~~~

It felt like a true lifetime had passed before she met any human again. She’s run into the swamp benders, but after she nearly brought their shetlers down, there's a ‘steer clear’ warning that goes throughout the tribe. 

She’s out foraging when she feels it. She’s bending over to pick up some berries and nuts when the vibration sends a shock through her that has her almost dropping everything. She freezes, unsure if it's real or just the swamp teasing her. 

_Tha-thwump_.

It's a heartbeat she hadn’t felt in _years_. One she wasn’t sure she was ever going to feel again. It's enough to make her eyes water. 

She gets closer and stifles a laugh at the thought of Aang being born a girl, something she had teased him about after the play on Ember Island. 

The young woman is unconscious and beaten, both spiritually and physically. Even though Toph thinks her heart is made of rock, it's hard to walk past the reincarnation of her best friend. 

Huh. Best friend. She hasn’t thought about that in awhile. 

Shaking her head she takes the girl back to her little dwelling, putting on a fire and starting to make food. She’s mindlessly stirring when a memory swipes its way across her. It’s an old one, older than the young woman on the floor. 

_“So, what did he tell you? Was it_ mystical?" _She teased him with the last word, wiggling her fingers. The both of them laughed. He widened his stance._

_“Oh no..well, sort of. He said, ‘In the swamp we see visions of people we’ve lost. People we’ve loved. Folks we think are gone. But the swamp tells us we’re not. We’re still connected to them. Time is an illusion and so is death.’” He paused here and Toph tilted her head._

_“Huh, so how’d you see me? We hadn’t met yet.” Aang paused his movements and looked at her._

_“He made me figure it out. I did, once I thought about it. I said, ‘Time is an illusion...so, it’s someone I_ will _meet.’ He told me I was right.”_

The memory leaves her as quickly as it appears and she’s left holding a spoon and a stew that’s about to boil over. She shakes her head and stirs the stew, listening to the deep breathing and heartbeat across the room. 

She wonders if all the mysticism and Avatar-nonsense had sent his next life here as well. It must have. In fact, she wonders if the person that Aang saw was meant for himself or for the girl currently in her room. She shakes that thought out of her head. She was young in his vision, so it must’ve been for her old friend. 

Friend. Right. It left a bitter taste in her mouth, but not for the reason she thought. 

She’s sure the new Avatar must have met the others, especially Katara, given that she was supposed to be from the Water Tribe. She knows that Zuko had given the responsibility to the White Lotus to find the Avatar and that later in his life, he understood the importance of protecting the Avatar, the sanctity of it. Sokka, well… she didn’t dwell on that. She couldn’t feel his death for certain, but she was sure that it had happened. She didn’t leave her shelter for days afterward. 

She dropped the spoon. Outside, it was nearing dusk and the moon was shining through the leaves. The breeze blew through the leaves, sounding almost like an ocean. In front of her, the stew boiled, but she didn’t move.

A light breeze drifted in her home, leaving goosebumps in its wake. It drifted and permeated all around her. Her chest loosened and as it blew through her hair it was like a whisper came with it. The swamp must be playing tricks because she could hear it, hear _herself_ saying-

_“Do you really think friendships can last more than one lifetime?”_

She remains frozen. 

She didn’t let herself think about that question because the last time she did, the answer she got was devastation. Her naivety for thinking that she would be the one who left, that she would be the one with some spiritual nonsense to allow her to find her friends in her next life. 

She wonders if asking that question brought peace to her...or to Aang. 

After all, it was him that was going to be here when the others were long gone. It was him that would live side by side with all those who came before and after him; watching as the time passed, as people changed, and the world they knew was gone. It’s not like Aang would really notice in his next life, but sometimes his past selves would seep through and she wondered if the girl lying on the floor had any of his characteristics or personality. 

She laughed at herself for being so.. _blind_. How could she not see that _this_ was what Aang had meant, _this_ was the answer to her question? 

She was getting a second chance, another opportunity to be the friend that Aang and the others had been to her. She had spent _years_ , years in solitude running away from a question she had asked when she was twelve. Years running away from her family and her friends because she couldn’t handle the pain of the past and the future. When in reality, she is the luckiest of all. 

How many people have a friendship that transcends lifetimes and _realize_ it?

Behind her she hears the telltale sign that her old friend is awakening. Her footfalls aren’t as airy as his were, but he is still there in the way she moves, Toph knows. 

They have a quiet conversation and when the Avatar holds fire in her hands and says, 

“I can’t believe it...Toph?” She chuckles. 

She thinks of leaving home at twelve to go off with strangers, of riding on Appa terrified with the wind in her hair, the feeling of joy when a boulder flew across the ground for the first time, the late nights snuggled around the campfire, the relief when peace had finally come, the mischief of breaking things in the palace, the love for her children and her friends children….

She thinks back to the cliff, standing there together holding hands. The blessing she has been given to continue the friendship that changed her life. How her friends had helped her. 

It was time to return the favor. 

_This_ is the answer.

She lets out a few more chuckles and focuses on the familiar _tha-thwump_ in the person in front of her. _Oh_ , she thinks, _how she’s missed her friends._ She opens her mouth and-

“Nice to see you again, Twinkletoes.” 

_  
  
  
  
  
_

**Author's Note:**

> Ta-da! 
> 
> Before you ask, I looked up that Sokka had apparently died somewhere between 74-86 y/o. I also just couldn't bring myself to write his death considering I cried about four times writing this. Also no Suki because I don't know her story and once again couldn't write her death. 
> 
> I also realized that the question she asks is a yes or no question but shhhhh 
> 
> Here is the TikTok that makes me cry and is the inspiration, essentially, for this piece. The artist is duckquackecho: https://vm.tiktok.com/JjXxW3L/
> 
> Thanks for readin!


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